Chapter 35: Just You Wait!

All the way, Su Chen held his phone, chatting with Han Jiangxue. To prevent motion sickness, he raised his phone to the level of his head, looking straight at the screen; this way, playing on his phone in the car wouldn’t make him dizzy.

But this conspicuous gesture quickly caught the attention of Wang Yilong, sitting beside him.

“Hey, Chen, the competition’s about to start and you’re still chatting with your girlfriend?” Wang Yilong teased, waggling his eyebrows.

One of them was taciturn and disliked socializing, while the other talked so much people feared interacting with him. Forced by circumstance, these two oddballs had spent the past days stuck together, establishing a rather one-sided friendship.

“Cough—what girlfriend? Don’t say nonsense!” Su Chen retorted, unable to help himself. “Did you even read the information your company gave you about me? I just broke up!”

“What’s the big deal? A girlfriend isn’t a wife—you can only have one wife, but girlfriends can always be replaced!” Wang Yilong chuckled, “If I were as outstanding as you, I’d collect all twelve zodiac signs and the twelve constellations!”

Su Chen rolled his eyes. “Why not aim for all fifty-six ethnic groups while you’re at it?”

“Hey, that’s a great idea! Chen, you’re truly remarkable—I can’t hope to match you!”

Su Chen: “...”

In the midst of this pointless banter, the coach finally pulled up leisurely in front of the Hunan Provincial TV building.

Seeing the people ahead preparing to get off, Su Chen typed a message to Han Jiangxue: “I’ve arrived, talk to you later.”

He didn’t wait for her reply, pocketed his phone, slung the guitar Han Jiangxue had given him over his back, and followed Wang Yilong and the rest of the group off the bus.

As he stepped out, he noticed an RV pulling up to the entrance as well. The door opened, and Wang Qi jumped out first, carrying two sets of instruments, then stooped by the door, waiting. After a moment, Meng Xiaotian finally emerged from within.

“Brother Tian, let’s not waste time with this lot—let’s head straight in,” Wang Qi said ingratiatingly to Meng Xiaotian.

Meng Xiaotian cast a contemptuous glance at the line of contestants, snorted, “Hm.”

Without another word, Wang Qi started forging a path ahead, rudely shoving people aside. “Move it, move it! Don’t block Brother Tian’s way!”

Several contestants nearly toppled from his pushing. They turned back, eyes blazing, but upon seeing Meng Xiaotian behind Wang Qi, all fell silent, quietly giving way.

“Hmph!”

Wang Qi reveled in the power borrowed from Meng Xiaotian, as if it was his own presence making others cower, humming with satisfaction. The ones he’d shoved simply clenched their fists, furious but unable to protest.

After a few steps, Wang Qi spotted Su Chen in the queue, his eyes lighting up as he deliberately squeezed toward him.

Su Chen noticed as well, his brow furrowing. Now he finally understood why Meng Xiaotian had inexplicably shown him hostility—he was a Starry Sky man! Su Chen even suspected he’d been recruited by Xu Fangyuan specifically to deal with him.

“Chen, I get the feeling that mutt’s coming straight for us,” Wang Yilong remarked, noticing Wang Qi’s intent gaze.

“Damn! I just remembered—you’ve got beef with him, right?” Wang Yilong finally recalled the Weibo fiasco from a couple days before. The drama had died down, but the online meme about Wang Qi and Zhou Qiang was spreading like wildfire, reminiscent of last year’s viral Chicken You’re So Beautiful. In this relentless wave, even newly returned Wang Yilong could toss out a catchphrase.

Su Chen shrugged helplessly. “Yes, he’s definitely coming for me.”

“So what do we do? Should we swing at him? But wouldn’t that make us look bad?”

Wang Yilong was stumped.

But Su Chen just smiled, didn’t hide in the crowd—instead, he pulled out his phone, started recording, and held it in front of him as he strode forward.

Seeing Su Chen approach, Wang Qi froze for a moment, then felt a surge of delight.

Damn! I was about to look for trouble and you’ve come right to me! If I don’t shove you to the ground this time, I’m not worthy of my surname!

As they drew closer, Wang Qi’s anticipation grew; his hands trembled uncontrollably. Thanks to Su Chen, he’d been hounded on Weibo, afraid to go online, and half his “King’s women” fanbase had fled. The thought made him wish he could kill Su Chen!

But in a lawful society, murder was out of the question. Annoying Su Chen would be enough to thrill Wang Qi for ages.

Yet just as they were about to meet, Su Chen raised his free hand and pushed Wang Qi aside.

Unlike Wang Qi, who was all bark and no bite, Su Chen had once hauled bricks on construction sites and delivered food up eighteen flights in the summer heat. Beneath his clothes, his muscles rippled.

Wang Qi had never expected Su Chen to pull such a move. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have had the strength to resist. He staggered and fell flat on the ground!

Dazed, Wang Qi looked around, only to meet mocking and gleeful gazes.

The sight filled him with rage. Just as he was about to curse, Su Chen walked up to Meng Xiaotian, holding his phone high.

“Everyone, look who I just bumped into—it's the sunny, optimistic Meng Xiaotian! My god, I grew up listening to his songs. Never imagined we’d compete together on 'Tomorrow’s Star!'”

Meng Xiaotian’s face had been cold, ready to make Su Chen uncomfortable, but as he heard Su Chen’s words and saw the phone recording, he changed expressions as if performing a Sichuan opera face-change, donning a friendly smile.

“Ah… Su Chen, you’ve listened to my songs? That’s truly an honor!”

“Of course! Especially that song, ‘What Are You Even,’ I had it on repeat every day!”

Su Chen played the starstruck fan perfectly, leaving Meng Xiaotian stunned, even questioning whether he’d ever sung ‘What Are You Even.’

But… he didn’t recall ever singing it.

While Meng Xiaotian was still puzzled, Su Chen said, “Tianbao, let’s get in the shot together!”

Without giving Meng Xiaotian a chance to refuse, Su Chen switched the camera, moved next to him, and posed for a selfie.

Meng Xiaotian could only smile and flash a peace sign.

He hadn’t realized, though, that his rumored six-foot-one height barely reached Su Chen’s chin, making him look utterly delicate.

“There we go! With this video, even if I get eliminated in the first round of ‘Tomorrow’s Star,’ I’ll be content!” Su Chen nodded in satisfaction.

Meng Xiaotian smiled, ready to play the caring senior, but as he opened his mouth, Su Chen had already returned to the queue and entered the building, carefree as ever.

Meng Xiaotian’s smile froze, then faded. He didn’t dwell on it, simply too lazy to bother with further expression management.

Just then, Wang Qi shuffled over, face full of frustration, whispering, “Brother Tian… you never sang ‘What Are You Even’… Actually, there’s no such song at all!”

Meng Xiaotian paused, then realization dawned, and his face flushed crimson.

“Damn it, why didn’t you tell me sooner!”

He glared at Su Chen’s retreating figure, gritting his teeth, his face twisted with rage.

“Su Chen, is it? Just you wait!”